SIMI VALLEY : 2-Mile Hiking Trail Nears Completion

A two-mile hiking trail connecting Chumash Park in eastern Simi Valley with the controversial Rocky Peak Park will be completed by year’s end, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy announced.

The Chumash Trail will offer hikers and equestrians views of Blind Canyon and other wilderness areas in the Santa Susana Mountains, conservancy representatives said.

Blind Canyon and the 4,369-acre Rocky Peak Park, formerly Runkle Ranch, are tied to entertainer Bob Hope’s proposed golf course and 750-luxury home development on the Jordan Ranch in eastern Ventura County.

Hope, who owns the land, has offered to sell Runkle Ranch, which includes Blind Canyon, to the conservancy for a below-market $10 million if the Jordan Ranch proposal goes through. The deal must be approved by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, a majority of whom oppose the project.

To gain support for the development’s approval, which is tied to the conservancy acquisition, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy opened Rocky Peak Park in August and invited the public to visit land that had been off-limits for decades.

Blind Canyon has been discussed as a possible landfill site by Los Angeles County, a proposal Hope says he may consider if his Jordan Ranch deal falls through.

Environmentalists have split over the proposal, with one camp arguing against opening the area for development and the other pointing to the benefits of publicly owned land for parks.

The conservancy opened Rocky Peak Park to the public in August, although the sale of the property has not yet gone through.

Chumash Park is a 52-acre area in northeastern Simi Valley operated by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.